Dog of the Dead - When there's no more room in heaven, the dogs will walk the Earth

There are people from my life who are dead now who would have loved my dog. I think about this a lot for some reason.

My mom's best friend, Bobbie, died of a stroke a few years ago. She would have really loved my dog. She loved all dogs, but I know she would have had a special place in her heart for mine. Her husband, Andy, passed away a few years prior while in a medical coma. He was a police dog trainer who would have loved my dog too. I'm sure he would have trained him in German like he did with all of his personal dogs. I suck at training my dog. It would have been great to have him around for that. I can also imagine him coming into the room, my dog crying excitedly and wagging his tail, while he says, "What is going on here?!"—his catchphrase.

My Poppop would love my dog the most. He told me once that he could see every dog's soul through their eyes. He loved that they were loyal protectors, just like him. He would look at my dog right now guarding me as we sit home alone on my living room floor mattress and be so proud of him. He would see his missing leg and injured back leg and still my dog's will to do anything for me, and he would be grateful such a loyal dog exists for me.

Personally, I love my dog, but I am not a dog person. Don't get me wrong. They are cool in short spurts, but my soul belongs to rabbits. Yes, my dog is loyal, but so is my rabbit I'm closest to. My dog protects my body, but my rabbits protect my soul. Dogs also require a lot more energy. I have no energy. Thanks to my disease, energy is a foreign concept for me. Something I grew out of long ago along with OSHKOSH B'Gosh overalls. It's not part of me anymore. So, rabbits are more fitting as they are more independent. Rabbits are also quieter and they don't fart all smelly like my dog, which are pluses. But rabbits are also much more fragile than dogs. One little injury or illness that would be nothing to a dog would kill a rabbit. They leave you so quickly and it's devastating.

What I love about my dog, though, is not just that he's loyal and protective. I love when he gets so excited to see my husband he loses his dog damn mind. I love when he plays with other dogs and falls deeply in love with some of them. I love when we took him to the dog beach and he ran around just hanging out with random people the whole time. I love that he will stand in the rain for hours but can't stand pools, lakes, or oceans. I love that he will jump face-first into piles of snow. I love that he is resilient. He has beaten all the odds. From being abused to being a stray to losing a leg to becoming a shelter dog for 6 months to moving all the time with us. He gets by and he's amazing.

Of course, my dog has some anxieties with all he's been through. He gets snappy with vets and is a bite risk in those situations, so we sadly have to muzzle him. He is afraid to be alone, so we bring him with us everywhere, or we have to hire a sitter. Luckily, he's able to alert me when my heart rate gets too high, so he qualifies as a service dog. He gets scared in situations with lots of other dogs on leashes, but he does okay in dog park situations for the most part. He howls whenever my husband or I leave the car because he always thinks we are leaving him and won't come back, but we always do. He's a good dog, a scared dog, but a good dog.

And while sometimes his complexities can drive me up a wall, I wouldn't choose any other dog in the world. He is my soul dog, my forever dog. I know those who are gone are looking down on him and smiling, and when it is his turn to go, they will be waiting for him at the other end of the rainbow bridge. Until then, whenever I look into my dog's eyes, I will not only see his soul but I will see Poppop, Bobbie, and Andy, and I will know I am safe.